For the Laughs
by hippiechick2112
Summary: Death saw that Ugly John Black always held onto the laughs as his anchor. He had to spread the joy somehow, even in the darkness of war. What Ugly John did not see was that the light always dimmed...and that it was hard to brighten it again. Story five in the series "After My War".


**For the Laughs**

 **Note and Disclaimer: Haha, I still don't own _M*A*S*H_. Enjoy part five of "After My War"!**

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Another aspect of my job is seeing a person drastically change. Sometimes, when they have something that defines their live, they struggle to keep it until the light dims and vanishes. In this case, I have to say that "Ugly John" Black was a classic example. The man emulated joy and compassion, but soon lost it in war and almost forever too.

I mean, the man was practically born happy. Originally from Australia, Ugly John grew up knowing that he had to find a profession that was gruesome and one that he needed to laugh about. That was his lot. He always had to bring the best out in people, no matter what they were doing, and make the job more bearable. Administering anesthesia to sick and hurt people was one of them. He had to make them relaxed before any surgery.

And his rate of success was amazing. By the time he was drafted and sent to Korea, Ugly John had a long list of people who named him as their coping mechanism in a time of trouble. Being on loan at the 4077th was about the same, although Ugly John sensed something off about the place. Sure, there were soldiers in there who required his help. However, they weren't just sick. They were _wounded_ , tore apart by metal lobed at them by their friends and enemies.

Ugly John had to use his best humor to keep his wits about him now more than ever before. He held onto the laughs in order to keep sane. Seeing those kids pour into the OR was horrible, hour after hour of nothing except babes. All of them younger than he was and all of them too old by the time the bullets and bombs tore them apart…it was unbearable. Ugly John thought that he would go crazy just by thinking about all that blood and guts.

During his short tenure at the 4077th, Ugly John truly began to relax. While it was hell going through the Pusan Perimeter, he found life easier with people who shared the same view of war he did. Ugly John was no fan of it, but he surely had to find more and more ways to keep his mind off of his. And that was the ticket – he was in it for the laughs. To multiply them would mean he was not the only happy man in the room.

His new friends thought Ugly John the perfect joke anyway. He was always in on some prank or making a crack about the military establishment. But there were more than the laughs to keep him going too. Drinking, whoring, smoking and gambling were the name of the games and Ugly John was in all of them. He also pushed the CO into the circle too, enabling him to make the worst indecisions of all.

I can't say that this was Ugly John's downfall. Most certainly, it was the best coping mechanism and one that served him better than most people in Korea. However, this was just a blur to him. Between all those poker games, nurses in tents and even drinking sessions came the sense that his life was swirling into an abyss.

Sure, it was fun for a bit. On the other hand, it was pushing him into a life that required forced laugher. That could not be tolerated, especially for a man who was supposed to keep the kids from wetting their stretchers in fear. Making himself do something no longer made it worth the effort. The mask had fallen and the pretense shattered.

He soon fell flat on his face. Ugly John held onto the laughs for so long that were soon was nothing left to chuckle about. It no longer served him as a distraction. Indeed, there was nothing for him to grasp except a nurse, a bottle of beer and some friends. He knew that company and booze were wonderful. To focus on something else was a different story. It was an unwritten chapter and one they all could not write well.

It wasn't too long before Ugly John would walk away from the tragedy of war. Once his transfer papers to England were set in stone, he was shipped from Korea to the land of eternal fog. There, he spent the rest of the war in guilt and shame, continuing his work in the medical field with little gusto. He lost contact with everyone he loved and found out their fates one by one once Australia welcomed him back as a hero.

After his war, Ugly John managed to complete his circle. He visited every person he knew personally in Korea. He compounded his guilt by standing with the dead. But there was nothing to laugh about anymore. All of it had vanished with the innocence of youth. Ugly John knew this…and he tried hard to regain what was lost.

Being with his friends helped him immensely. They too pushed him to be the lovable anesthesiologist to be the goofball they remembered him to be. It took some years, but he soon was back to his old self. His edge was just harder.

I am Death though…and there is always a way to me. Ugly John Black escaped me in war and in peacetime. Eventually, after his years on Earth, he'll come home. He always pushed away the blues with his contagious laughter. Once he runs out again, he might not have a way to retrieve the light. To strike out again would mean demise…and Ugly John would do anything in his power to keep it away.


End file.
